A clear head, no allergy, sinus pressure, and there is a wonderful salt breeze; this is an earthly sort of heaven for me. It's Friday and there are a few kayakers as we pull up to the back water, but overall it's not too crowded. There is a gentleman making his way across the street from the Salty Dawg, and as we prep our gear and throw on shoes to wade, he informs us about his new shop and kayak rentals.
I've always hoped someone would open up one of the two buildings here for that very thing, and I pray it never becomes developed like so many of the other areas surrounding it. I asked him how much the kayak rentals were, and when he told me I decided I'd rather eat lunch instead. I asked if he had canoes because then you could at least split the cost of getting out there between two people.
I've seen rentals on both coasts, lakes and rivers and the prices vary greatly, but for me 45 dollars for 4 hours was steep. I'd rather save up and get my own, but if you are in the area and you don't feel comfortable wading or don't need the cash then it looked like a nice place. He also had live bait, lures, rods and reels available, so it is definitely a good place to keep in mind and I pray he does well.
Who can resist a flat fish? They are adorable, and I know a lot of people sing the praises of Sebastian Inlet every year, but there are plenty of keeper flounder to be had in the back water all down our coast. I have caught them any where there is a tide, and they seem to like the sand near oyster bars a lot. I took him and most of the other fish on a Gulp Shrimp, but I had a snook almost hit me in the chest for chartreuse Mirrolure soft plastic on a Mirrolure swim jig.
The trout I caught were small and just under the keeper size. Every single last one of them was exactly 14 and a quarter inches, a very uniform school. Sometimes in Mosquito Lagoon I'll catch a gator trout on the backside of these schoolies. It was not the case today and all our Redfish were running in the 15 to 17 range, but it was fun and though we lost a lot more flounder than we caught, I was able to keep my promise to Drew and throw some nice filets in the freezer.
Well, goodbye NSB, I will miss you till next time, but it was fun and I'm definitely going to work harder on getting a canoe to take the girls out here. If you are adventurous and feel like wading at any time that you are here, please wear shoes or you will cut yourself to pieces. You don't need fancy gear, a couple of spinning rods, 10 pound test line, some jig heads and bodies and you are good to go. There is a shop right there now that can help you out and if you don't like lures you can buy live right there. There is also a campground next door, so get out there and get revived. Thank God for fishing and the outdoors!
